In recent months, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has admitted she is “worried” about the president’s mental health, and Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has warned that Trump “has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence” necessary for a successful presidency.

Ask the ghostwriter of his best-selling book, “The Art of the Deal.”

Tony Schwartz has called Trump a “sociopath” and has said “there is an excellent possibility” that the Trump presidency “will lead to the end of civilization.”

Ask the voters.

One in three Americans say they believe Trump’s mental health is “poor” while two out of three regularly question his temperament. Four in 10 voters in the swing state of Michigan — which helped deliver the White House to Trump — say they think the president is “mentally unstable” while a majority of them are worried that he has access to the nuclear codes.

Ask the experts.

In a new book published this week, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,” a group of 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts warn that “anyone as mentally unstable as this man should not be entrusted with the life-and-death-powers of the presidency.” Seemingly in defiance of the American Psychiatric Association’s “Goldwater rule,” which states “it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion [on a public figure] unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement,” the various and very eminent contributors paint a picture of a president who has “proven himself unfit for duty.”

Stanford University psychologist Philip Zimbardo — of the famous Stanford prison study — suggests the “unbalanced” Trump is a “specific personality type: an unbridled, or extreme, present hedonist” and “narcissist.” Psychiatrist Lance Dodes, a former Harvard Medical School professor, says Trump’s “sociopathic characteristics are undeniable” and his speech and behavior show signs of “significant mental derangement.” Clinical psychologist John Gartner, a 28-year veteran of Johns Hopkins University Medical School, argues that Trump is a “malignant narcissist” and “evinces the most destructive and dangerous collection of psychiatric symptoms possible for a leader.” For Gartner, the “catastrophe” of a Trump presidency “might have been avoided if we in the mental health community had told the public the truth, instead of allowing ourselves to be gagged by the Goldwater rule.”

“The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump” was conceived of and edited by Professor Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine, who writes of her profession’s moral and civic “duty to warn” the American public about the threat posed by their volatile, erratic, and thin-skinned president.

On the latest edition of my Al Jazeera English show, “UpFront,” I spoke to Lee about Trump’s mental state, the purpose of the book and the arguments put forth by her critics. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed.

Mehdi Hasan: Why did you write this book and what is your main message?

Bandy Lee: We are a group of mental health experts who have come to a consensus conclusion about an issue that is of vital interest to the public and that the public has a right to know: basically, that Mr. Trump in the office of the presidency is a danger to the public and the international community. We are not purporting to make a diagnosis. Assessing dangerousness is different from diagnosing someone for the purpose of treatment. I’m speaking on my own behalf and not representing the views of Yale University, Yale School of Medicine, or Yale Department of Psychiatry.

MH: According to a study by experts at the Duke University Medical Center, around one in four presidents have had some sort of mental illness while in office. So why is Trump so special?

BL: Mental illness itself does not involve an incapacity to carry out a duty. It’s really the specific symptoms, the severity of the symptoms, and the particular combination of … impulsivity, recklessness, an inability to accept facts, rage reactions, an attraction to violence, a proneness to incite violence — all these things are signs of danger.

MH: Allen Frances, the famous psychiatry professor who wrote a manual on diagnosing mental disorders, has denounced your book, saying: “Bad behavior is rarely a sign of mental illness. … Psychiatric name calling is a misguided way of countering Trump’s attack on democracy.” What’s your response to him?

BL: Actually, I don’t think we’re that much in disagreement. We are declaring dangerousness, which is different from making a diagnosis. I am of the camp that believes it is necessary to do a full interview and to [have] all the information, including any medical conditions, any other disorders, that could explain behavior before making a diagnosis. So, again, we are not purporting to make a diagnosis. The conjecture is that he shows signs of severe mental impairment. We are concerned enough that we are calling for an urgent assessment.

MH: A lot of presidents were narcissists, egomaniacs, incited violence, suffered from conditions such as depression. People didn’t question their fitness for office, did they?

BL: That is right. Very few conditions are dangerous. Very few conditions would make one unfit for duty. In this particular situation, we are declaring a danger to the public and to international security. I can tell you as an expert on violence that he has shown many signs of dangerousness. The most obvious ones might be verbal aggressiveness, history of sexual assault, incitement of violence at his rallies, attraction to violence and powerful weapons, [provoking] hostile nations, and, more recently, an endorsement of violence, during [the protests in] Charlottesville, and sparring with another nuclear power that has an unstable leader. All these things are signs of dangerousness.

MH: There’s been talk of setting up a commission of mental health experts to evaluate every future president and perhaps advise Congress on a president’s fitness for office. Should Donald Trump be removed from office based on his mental state? Should the 25th Amendment, which discusses how to remove a president if he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” be invoked?

BL: Well, we’re merely recommending that procedures be put in place to evaluate every presidential candidate and every president, in the same manner that every military officer and every civilian service person is put through. That the commander-in-chief is not put to the same test is a glaring omission. Currently we are advocating the setting up of an expert panel to advise a commission and we’re recommending that the panel consist of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and neurologists.

MH: But you’re of the view that there is a case for removing Trump from office based on his mental state?

BL: There are many signs pointing in that direction and so we’re calling for an urgent evaluation.

MH: How worried should we be that Trump has access to the nuclear codes?

BL: Well, that is our critical concern: that his condition is actually probably far worse than people are detecting now; that [his] mental impairment goes deeper and is far more pervasive than people can understand when they are untrained in psychological matters. And that the worst is yet to come.

Top photo: Donald Trump speaks at a press conference on day two of the 2014 Republican Leadership Conference on May 30, 2014 in New Orleans.

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There are two major areas of extreme concern regarding this president. 1. His megalomania, narcissism, pathological lying, amoral ripping off of investors and taxpayers throughout his “business” life. All of these should have precluded his run for the presidency as anything but a joke. 2. Now we see the unmistakable signs of dementia (OK, along with all the other professional pussyfooters and hair splitters, I’ll go along with the silliness. I won’t say he HAS dementia, but he clearly shows all the signs that go along with Alzheimer’s). Vocabulary deteriorated from adult several years ago, to 4th or 5th grade level today. Shocking inability to use anything but simple words. Inability to express a complete thought, or even complete a coherent sentence. Attention span that measures in minutes. Anger, general discontent, mood swings, jumbled speech, etc, etc. Alzheimer’s has a strong inherited predilection and his father died of it.

The concern for all of us should not be that there are people with these deplorable personalities and behavior, or that there are people with Alzheimer’s (3 million and counting in the USA), but that our political system has deteriorated to the point that a person with both issues occupies the White House. Several million of us voted in the most dim-witted way possible, without the due diligence that democracy demands (There ain’t much democracy left in the US today.). The Power Elite (Yes, they’ve been manipulating us for their own ends for decades) knew full well what he was and is like, yet felt it in their interest to put him there. These same Power Elite have, in the face of the greatest threat our nation has ever seen, simply used this buffoon’s total lack of awareness and competence, to grab even more of the nation’s resources, control and money for themselves. Congress has been in their pocket for so long, members of Congress hardly recognize they are nothing but sheep, cat’s paws to that moneyed Power Elite.

Call your congress man or woman. Demand that they get a shred of courage and civic responsibility and find a way to remove this disaster of a person from the White House.

Only if you consider being an asshole a mental illness. At least with someone who is mentally ill you can say it isnt their fault, it is their disease. But Trump is a horrible human being and waste of skin and he is not sick or misguided, he knows exactly what he is doing and why. The moment you come to that realization, everything will fall into place.

When you study Psychology or Psychiatry and have practiced it for some time – you can really differentiate between a jerk and a sick person. That simply means we understand what we are dealing with and the prognosis.
I don’t believe it excuse his bad behavior.

If trump is willing to buy his own books so that he’s added to the NYT bestseller list why would he stop at offering willfully ignorant trumpsters some cash or notoriety for trying to discredit this article? The donald is dangerous not only to the U.S., but to the entire planet as well. No doubt about it.

This is proof that the Goldwater rule was wise policy. Given the severity of the assessments presented here in light of the actual, factual account of Trump’s words and actions and delivery, adopting this analytical methodology would obviously necessitate the certification of multiple tens of millions of American bullshitters.

Are those the same shrinks that used to work at Guantanamo for the CIA? Shit Fire, save your matches..now they’re in it for the fast buck..
The whole reason for being behind the psycho/pharma Industrial complex is to make up new illness names for the chemicals the boys in the lab coats have put together..
Recall that viagra started out to be a heart medication until they saw it gives you a boner and they’d make more money if they sold it as a remedy for something they made up, called ED.,erectile dusfunction..
I say, if this quack needs to write books about the likes of Mark Zuckerberg..now there’s sketchy tweaker dude for ya..
Shit, Trump was on TV how long before he was President? And now that he is President, the shrinks are a hot ticket..

Impulsivity, recklessness, an inability to accept facts, rage reactions and so forth describe Trump so well. He is undeniably sick and in no way should have his finger on the nuclear bomb. Trump, Kim Jong Un, and nuclear weapons do not bode well for the future.

Yes, every one of the yahoos that run for president should be evaluated by the doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital (or similar).

But let’s extend that to qualification for handling classified information. If I had disclosed classified info to the Russian Foreign Minister as our current pres did, or mishandled it as a previous secretary of state did, I would have long ago been permanently disqualified to handle it. How do these people maintain their clearance? Clearly there is a different standard for those in high office; the thousands of worker bees who handle it every day would be in prison for similar transgressions.

We must reject the possibility of impeaching the President on mental health grounds, for that would either require the abrogation of duty by Congress by placing their authority in the hands of a bunch of psychiatrists, or the inherently ludicrous process involving the inmates of an insane asylum deciding which of their own is the most insane.

I am certainly no fan of President Trump, but find the objection to his presidency based on his being a narcissist absurd. Both his predecessor and his principal opponent in the election are every bit as narcissistic as he is; the only difference is one of style.

You may be right; but none of the previous holders of the office are under suspicion of colluding with a foreign power to undermine American confidence in presidential elections, while committing actions that amount to un-Constitutional bribes on a daily basis, together with ample examples of taxpayer graft in continual violation of Federal law, while undermining American national security on every front imaginable, while coddling white supremacists, thereby constituting an assault on the American people.

Mental illness, then, is not the means by which he is removed: but the causal agent, the motive and modus-operandi by which he endangers the future of the Republic. It is a piece of strong evidence, therefore, that he should be in a hospital for the mentally insane, and not outright convicted of treason with its consequences. If I were his lawyer, I’d totally advocate for an insanity plea at this point in the best interests of my client.

The truth is that this situation has a precedent. Because of President Warren Harding’s incompetence and recalcitrance — the more that aides pointed out he was subject to outbursts and recklessness, the more recklessly he behaved — past iterations of Congress have explored the use of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to recommend removal in cases in which a president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” The VP and a majority in Congress must make the recommendation, and the House and Senate must confirm that recommendation by two thirds if the president objects and refuses to comply. We’re considering this solution because it’s come up before.

There is no “abrogation of duty by Congress” if it chooses to consider the verdict of a large number of professional psychologists. I don’t think it is likely Congress will, but a team of respected psychologists would be better at assessment than the cheerleaders who comprise the Congressional majority. Congress tolerates whatever dangerous behavior the President engages in for economic/political reasons, which is the definition of impropriety.

To paraphrase Montaigne on Trump’s vindictive idea of justice, it is rating one’s conjectures at a very high price to roast entire nations on the strength of them. We should be less concerned about Trump’s feelings and dignity than we should about the perilous future of a nation under his heel.

Unoriginal metaphors aside, the “lunatic[] running the asylum” is certainly the President himself, and his innumerable conflicts of interest and inexperience contrast sharply with the collective reputations and experience of the psychologists who assessed him.

“Both his predecessor and his principal opponent in the election are every bit as narcissistic as he is”

That is complete insanity. I doubt we’ve ever had a president who wasn’t somewhat narcissistic, but Trump is constantly complementing himself and forcing others to do the same. If you don’t think that’s different I don’t buy your “no fan of Trump” BS.

At what point do heads start to roll??
Louis the 14th?
Czar Nicholas ?
Kaiser Wilhelm ?
Abraham Lincoln ?
John Fitzgerald Kennedy?
from the top of the ladder to the bottom. . .
WE pay to protect them – & they also pay for protection – – hasn’t saved any of them. . .
perpetual war?.?
war based on lies?.?
but then they all are – aren’t they
Rumor has it -we knew beforehand the Pearl harbor attack….
Korea ?.? based on lies (according to historical records)
Afghanistan / Iraq?? – – – –
October 7, 2017 marks the 16th anniversary – –
of the October 7, 2001 illegal US-NATO invasion of Afghanistan…..
The British Empire the world’s biggest and most powerful – failed

Trump has permission to become a “fascist dictator” only if those who surround him allow him to be. We should be doing everything we can to prevent that from happening, but the Congress should be doing its job to stop things from reaching that point. Sadly, I doubt they will.

I believe that Congress is playing a long game in which they potentially sacrifice democracy or even survival in the U.S. in order to achieve every point on the agenda that was handed to them by the dozen billionaires who run this.

Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist and faculty member of the Yale School of Medicine. Quoting the most incendiary part of her assessment of a person in a position of power — “the worst is yet to come” — is standard practice in journalism on the left, right and center.

The Trump presidency itself is what’s nonstandard. His words and behavior constitute “scaremongering,” not the headlines of journalists.

You are exactly proving my point: what constitutes scaremongering propaganda in the rest of the world, is called standard journalism in the USA.
Instead of inventing silly ways to discredit the president, it would be much more interesting to analyze what he has done until now and conclude that the scary part is that he has exactly followed the Deep state’s agenda on foreign , environment, financial and military policy. That is where the real danger is, not in the blond hair of Mr.President…

I don’t think many are getting it. The Professional Class got the globe 50% of the way here. All I hear in these comments is, it’s just those stupid idiots..the ones the Republicans & Libertarian’s told over and over again that government was the problem, evil in it’s inefficiency. The people heard that. Washington D.C.- government is especially a problem. People are not dumb, they are tired and confused. Trump lied well to get here. He also made people laugh…shocking yet seemed familiar…like Tony Soprano, Joe Pesci, he put on a show and knew he could sell it.
A commission of mental health experts will not be a solution. If the Supreme Court can be manipulated and polarized, so will this group of professionals. We see scientists and regulatory agencies have all been stripped of power by company $$$ and the American gov’t they bought. They still own it, and the news agencies are so gonna run the best- disinformation- show- called- party- politics that money monopolies can buy. No morals, but to ‘seem’ moral.
Glen Greenwald warned against this idea of impeachment… Bernie Sanders will be next. …We just have to be smart enough to realize what the BIGGEST PROBLEM is. Political propaganda has been programmed in and is now hard- wired into our culture in the little & big box in everyone’s homes. It’s down- right confusing to most people that the media could be an effective high-powered weapon, hypnotic and irresistible to ‘belief systems’ that make up part of a persons character.

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
? Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956

To the point–well done. Sadly, I must admit some culpability as a psychiatrist watching and doing nothing while the science of psychology made practically any outcome possible including this miserable example.

Wise comment and exceptional quote. People are a mixture of motives and actions and the mirror is the starting point of considering good and evil thoughts and actions. Self reflection can change you for the better and this change can grant creativity and ideas that influences and help others. A fellow scientist that knows me well once reflected you have no politics. Yes I said such absolutes are not useful in the beliefs and science for self improvement to accomplish without harming self or others.

How many usernames will you post under to praise yourself, Bowiepoet/ John Smolley / Fred Cowan? Both directly under your first are written in the same style and use the same slightly formal shorthand: (1) “To the point–well done” and (2) “[w]ise comment and exceptional quote.”

The problem is not that you post under various names. It is that you use multiple names to create the illusion of a consensus.

Additionally, using the unverifiable claim that one of your invented respondents is a “psychiatrist watching and doing nothing while the science of psychology made practically any outcome possible” is both ridiculous (“John Smolley” is not verifiably or believably a psychologist) and fraudulent (no literate psychiatrist would rail against the “science of psychology”; they would have enough belief their training not to say that, and the accuracy to talk about the *misuse* of psychology if they believed in that).

What if I tried to reinforce *my* opinions by saying that the three clinical psychologists in my family are the reason I understand this situation better than you? How would mentioning that strengthen my argument in any way?

Psychological assessments can involve a little subjectivity and lots of expertise, but argument by authority is not something to which I’ve ever seen psychologists resort in politics: “As a psychologist, I find your political leanings to be wrong.”

I have been in contact with my rep. in congress and his replies are not in too much code. Everyone is aware. Why they won’t stick their nose out is beyond me. The single party rule we have now may be a big part of it but repubs’ are voicing their opinions in public. Will it happen soon enough? Probably not.

This is finally seeing the light of day. The GOP Congress are complicit in shielding, protecting Trump for their own means. They have Broken their OATH of OFFICE and have allow this person to endanger every last human being. The pathology runs deep in this GOP along with plain old avarice- GREED-never enough MONEY or POWER. Wake up America.

It is clear that we are living in dangerous times since the election of DJT and each day gets a little scarier. We are standing alone, exceptionally alone in a world that the USA has bombed or overthrown other countries’ governments. It’s not a good record to stand on and poke bears all over the world.

This is a very serious issue and as much as we get some comic relief of his disconnectedness from reality, it is no laughing matter that he doesn’t have the capacity to understand that words matter. How many jokes has Trump told ? Countless, most of the time he says the wrong thing, it was a joke.

The GOP have the only power in the country to disable him. Hopefully this book will give them a backbone. It’s time we took back this country and returned it to the greatness it was before DJT.

Sure, it’s perfectly OK to mention for the point of dismissing the rule of the professional association when Trump is the subject sense everybody knows he’s just a crazy – but mostly he’s just really obnoxious, clinically obnoxious.

I suppose the two Psychologists who designed and implemented the CIA torture techniques broke association rules as well…but hay Trump wasn’t there so…back to Trump.

Fascinating tale in the New Yorker from the author of ‘art of the deal’ Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter Tells All
“The Art of the Deal” made America see Trump as a charmer with an unfailing knack for business. Tony Schwartz helped create that myth—and regrets it.
If Trump is elected President, he warned, “the millions of people who voted for him and believe that he represents their interests will learn what anyone who deals closely with him already knows—that he couldn’t care less about them.” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all

We’re letting orthodoxy (both medical and in the form of political correctness) stand in the way of forming a conclusion about Trump’s mental state that any rational person can make.
I’m no mental health expert.
There is one clue that made it unmistakable that Trump was a profound danger.
The media reported that, at a Security briefing (either as a candidate or president-elect) in which he asked how come we have thousands of nukes, but never USE them. He really didn’t know!
That statement shows he’s utterly ignorant of the fact that using nukes would kill millions – either that, or he wouldn’t care if they did.
Both make him a towering danger, not just to Americans but to life on earth.
This is a man who would USE nukes and think it was a perfectly natural way to deal with a hostile state – not to mention that lobbing nukes will make him feel much more manly.
That is why, when I learned he’d been elected, I became very ill – hyperventilating, stomach clenched in a slick fist, unable to eat – and why that night I dreamed of mushroom clouds above nearby cities. I was sick, because I KNEW he wouldn’t hesitate to start a nuclear war.
The psychiatrists don’t recognize what is truly wrong with him. Because a truly amoral person can’t be treated, because it is congenital. In times past, religious people would have called him a “bad seed,” or that he was born without a soul.
The religious implications may be irrational, but only to the extent that they blame a devil for it.
As a bad seed goes, it does exist in a secular sense, and Trump has it. He was BORN without ANY of the better human attributes and an overabundance of the nasty ones. I’ve known two such people.
They genuinely think of themselves as the only real human. Other people are constructs, sort of like paper dolls, put there for him to interact with. The world itself exists for the same purpose. To nuke a few million people would be like burning up a few million paper dolls.
Moreover, he is in an ENDLESS towering RAGE. Ask the experts what being in a rage can do when it never stops. It cauterizes the mind.
A congenitally amoral mind doesn’t exist for mental experts because it can’t be treated. So it might as well not exist.
Except that it does, and in this case, it could truly bring about the end of Earth as an abode for living things.
He is SLATHERING to push the button. It wouldn’t be surprising if the people around him have had to hold him down more than once. And there’s bound to come a time when they’re not nearby.
Just as guns are phallic symbols to inadequate men, so nuclear missiles are, in a grander sense, to Trump.

Couldn’t say if Trump is a nut or not, never met him.
I do believe that virtually all politicians are sociopaths, as are people high up in the finance industry, as are people in Hollywood producing media, Weinstein being a current example.

Trump was elected as the lesser of two psychopaths. Since the bigger psychopath (the one that lost) has been busy writing a book to prove to everyone just how psychotic she is, and the psychopath that won is President, it is convenient for supporters of the losing psychopath to focus on the winning psychopath and attack his character. This plays into the winning psychopath’s hands – because his character flaws were there for everyone to see all along – and he still won. Get over it.

The Constitution of the United States lays out a very clear path for impeachment in the current situation. The criterion, has Trumped causes substantial harm to society, has been met many times over. Now we need to pressure Congress relentlessly to impeach, starting in the House.

Tonight on Paradigms (http://paradigms.life) author Barbara Radnofsky discusses her new book “A Citizens Guide to Impeachment.” Tune in at 5 PM PST and learn how the remedy for the tRump problem is in place and ready to be utilized.

Impeachment isn’t NEARLY good enough. It just removes him from office, and that’s good, but not enough.
He has already committed crimes, often quite publicly, and there already IS enough evidence to convict him. Even for TREASON.
He should be INDICTED. If convicted, he’d get either jail time or be put into a mental institution, where he could no longer play any role at all in politics, and he’d never be able to scam, lie, spin or preach hate ever again. He’d become a non-entity.
He knows he’s above the law. So do most Republicans, so the crimes being committed are becoming more frequent and more serious. People with impunity are like that.
It was the duty of Dems to heavily pursue indictments of him, and most other Republicans, since most of them have also committed crimes, quite blatantly.
Impeach Trump? Does anyone really expect the Republican-owned Congress to do that?
Countless Republican crimes, and not even ONE indictment.
What is wrong with this picture?
The Dems are just as culpable, since they sit on their hands and let the Rs get away with crimes.
And you, the public, get some culpability, too. We now have a fascist state, yet the public has dived – again – into feverish denial of reality. Since they won’t face the reality, they are choosing not to act against it.
Our tendency to leap into denial is the most dangerous attribute humanity has. You can only fight a frightening and ugly reality if you admit you see it.

You would benefit from a thorough reading of the Constitution. Although it is perhaps deliberately vague on what constitutes an impeachable offense (“High crimes and misdemeanors”) it is quite specific as to what constitutes Treason. Mr. Trump may be many things, but according to the Constitutional definition, a traitor is not one of them.

This is absurd. The only people you named are known enemies, that Trump attacked during the campaign, for the most part. I do not know who you are, or your background, yet your hypothesis appears very flawed to me.

Yesterday on NPR there was a story about a guy who, at 30 years of age, lost his ability to fly combat rescue missions of downed pilots (solely due to his age) and given a desk job he didn’t want. So, he decided to become a missileer, responsible for launching nuclear tipped missiles. As a part of his training he asked a simple question – slightly paraphrased here because I can’t quote it verbatim:

There are all these checks on MY end that there’s no accidental launch; what protections exist to know that the order to launch nuclear missiles is a lawful order and necessary?

In other words, what checks and balances are there when the order is given?

He never got an answer but the mere asking of the question got him thrown out of the military. The answer is / was, of course, that there is none; the president can launch at will.

Their reporting went on to say that Truman learned about “the bomb” on the day FDR died, and all they told him was that it was a very special bomb. When the attack on Hiroshima came, the military lied to him and told him it was purely a military base. When he found out a city of a quarter million people was wiped out, he tried to stop them but was too late; the bomb on Nagasaki was already on its way, though he DID stop the third bomb they were going to drop. … Truman was so livid he made it so there could only be civilian control of nuclear missiles, literally separating out the nuclear material from the rest of the bomb.

Apparently went the other way with it, let the military have more control again, and then Kennedy swung control back to the civilian side… Through all of that, and where we are today, there are checks and balances on the whole system EXCEPT at the original order to launch. And the MILC is bound and determined to make sure there is no such limit. … The words of Dick Cheney on the matter are down right chilling…

Your reading of history is flawed. True that Truman only learned of the Manhattan Project upon Roosevelt’s death, but the rest seems made up. For instance, the bit about the “special bomb”: what were they supposed to tell someone who was the only president to had no more than a high school education? Second, the choice of targets was not his to make; the decision was to bomb a city that was untouched so as to unambiguously demonstrate the weapon’s power. Third, the timing was decided on the basis of giving the Japanese ample time to surrender after the first bomb was dropped. It took the second bomb to enable the moderates to overcome the resistance of the fanatics who wanted to continue the war until every person in Japan was dead. Finally, there was no third bomb. Essentially all the available bomb-grade material was used in the construction of the Trinity, Big Boy and Little Boy weapons.

You can certainly criticize NPR’s reporting, but it wasn’t MY “reading of history;” I only reported what I’d just heard on the radio.

Further, they did give some citaions and quotes to back up their assertion that Truman originally thought that it was ONLY a military base and was very upset when he learned that about 1/4 million innocents were murdered. This was followed up with policy changes that he clearly did make, such as requiring the nuclear material to NOT be kept in the bombs.

The president is called the Commander In Chief for a reason; that the military didn’t ask him where to bomb might sort of be understandable if it were an ordinary bomb. But certainly if they’d given him the appropriate data, he could have asked the right questions to learn that it was going to wipe out a great many innocents, even if he didn’t even have a high school education.

Certainly, the USA already had an all-out-war mentality with Germany in Europe – the firebombings of Dresden being a good example. Certainly the military didn’t give a damn about those innocents. … Given the removal of nuclear material from bombs for a while leads me to conclude the story NPR reported is probably correct about Truman’s being upset about the civilian deaths.

Your third point is well disputed by historians; Japan was already suing for peace. There’s evidence on both sides of this particular point.

While no third bomb was used, records show that they at least told Truman they had enough material to drop a third one within a week or two – who knows if it’s true. … I’m inclined to believe they had plenty enough material as they were ramping up production at Hanford… We know that “B reactor” produced the first batch from December 26, ’44 to Feb 2, ’45, delivered by Feb 5. That’s only 7 days to make and 3 days to deliver. Two identical reactors came online in December, ’44, and by April, shipments were headed to Los Almos every 5 days. The two newer reactors had advances to increase production rates. Further, after Trinity was complete (date unknown but exploded July 16), the first “silo” (of three) was now available to make another bomb’s worth of material. The first bomb dropped – at Hiroshima – was a simpler design but required more material than later bombs… it was exploded on August 6, Nagasaki on the 9th. … There seems to have been ample time to have made plenty of nuclear material and build another bomb by then. … Not having done the research myself, I’m inclined to believe a third war-ready bomb could have been made ready in short order following the two that were dropped.

My apologies for addressing you instead of NPR. My primary source is “The Fall of Japan”, by William Craig (Dial Press, 1967). In it, Craig describes the day by day developments in Japan from the days before the first bomb was dropped up until the Emperor’s speech. It is clear from events that the decision to surrender had not been made as of August 12th, and in fact on August 13th, in response to rumors of an impending surrender, a group of officers attempted a Coup that almost succeeded.

It is true that the Japanese had been involved in negotiations to end the war for some time before the first bomb was used, but the negotiations went nowhere because we demanded unconditional surrender and the Japanese refused to consider it because it meant giving up their Emperor. Ironically, in the end, surrender became possible because we agreed that the Emperor could stay. So, I suppose, had we understood their sensitivities the war could have been ended a month sooner.

As for the third bomb, your second post corresponds to my information. Having the material to assemble a bomb is quite a different thing from having one ready to deliver. Even assuming the third bomb could have been assembled in no time, it would still have taken weeks to deploy it because the only practicable way of getting it from the US to Tinian was by ship – just as the first two were.

Those of us victimized by psychopaths or sociopaths know all too well what these disorders can do. RARE is it that these individuals are diagnosed. They escape detection and yet are extremely ruinous to everyone in their lives. Contrary to public perceptions about sociopaths and psychopaths, most are NOT serial killers although some of them are.
TRUMP.IS.OBVIOUS.
The establishment is FULL of these people, from Paul Ryan, whose hero is another sociopath, Ayn Rand to Mitch McConnell, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Yet ALL of them escape detection because of their ability to conform to social norms, yet are capable of and have committed war crimes and murder through WAR. Many of them are described as master manipulators.
Trump is obvious because of his high narcissistic traits. In the world of psychopathology Trump would be characterized as a Psychopathic narcissist.
Psychopaths are addicted to POWER and they hurt people because it gives them the feeling of POWER. Psychopaths are emotionally rewarded by the pain they cause.
The US psychiatric establishment has done a poor job of educating about there disorders, the most dangerous of the Cluster B. .
Trump should be forced to have a psychiatric evaluation and the biggest question is WHY Congress has done nothing to call this man mental health into question and my guess is that it’s because this man’s mental health disorders is exploited to pass dangerous policies, domestic or foreign and for more war.
It isn’t just Trump. It is the entirety of the sociopathic elite

Unfortunately during my life a couple of full blown psychopaths crossed the path of my life, so I know what they are capable of.
The purpose of their life is to cause destruction, the more the better. How they do it, well to normal mortals it is like pure magic.
A good introductory to starting to understand psychopathy is titled The mask of sanity, it is free to download in pdf

What I am more worried about is the fact that our system has become so skewed towards the oligarchy, and that our media is such a failure, and that checks and balances are not checking and balancing, and that Obama and others before him gave the executive branch so much power, and that war profiteering is such a fundamental part of our economy . . .

that when a demagogue such as Trump gets into power, he can do whatever the fuck he wants.

IS DONALD TRUMP psychologically unstable and unfit for office? Does the president of the United States have a dangerous mental illness of some shape or form?

Obviously.

Donald Trump is intellectually, morally, educationally, and emotionally unfit for any public office and especially for that of President. The question answers itself. It has never been asked of any previous president.

Yet this question avoids the more pressing and equally self-evident question of the Republican party.

Consider the counterfactual and counterintuitive policies favored by Republicans.

1. Increase government revenues and draw down the national debt by reducing taxes — especially taxes on the wealthy and every corporation.
Literally they argue less is more.

2. Not only do Republicans insist climate change doesn’t exist (or that if it does, it’s part of some unproved celestial cycle) and that the best way to deal with it is to ignore it.

3. Republicans argue, and have argued since Reagan, that deregulation will make corporations behave more responsibly.

7. More military expenditures mean less need for military intervention. War is peace.

8. Buffoons — Reagan, Bush, Trump — make better presidents.

9. Consolidation of media (see Sinclair or Fox) allows for more voices and a more inclusive democracy.

10. Bankers will act in the public interest if they have fewer restrictions.

11. A more belligerent foreign policy (Iran, NK, Iraq, Afghanistan) offers more protection than trade, cooperation, and international agreements.

12. Reducing taxes on the wealthy makes for more fairness.

Honestly, Trump isn’t the issue. The entire Republican agenda is just as foolish and destructive as an unhinged Donald Trump.

In response to these (and more) absurdities I’ve listed, the Republicans will say, “it’s not as bad as [fill in political opponent] because of [fill in fabricated or overhyped individual behavior]. I’m reasonably sure the first thought of anyone objecting to my observations will be along the lines of “But … but … the Democrats are worse.” Those of you objecting should think about how easily that thought slips into your consciousness.

Instead of throwing darts at scarecrows — and in Trump’s case a scarecrow the size of a barn — you idiots might want to start advocating against those Republican policies I listed. This agenda seems to cognitively evaporate when a human political targets appears.

Trump is a disaster, but he didn’t appear out of nowhere. Republicans have been laying the tracks for him or some other equally reprehensible blabbering idiot (like Mike Pence or Ted Cruz) for decades.

Rather than asking if Trump is unstable (he is), you should be asking why anyone other than a moral imbecile would vote for an idiot like Trump.

“Rather than asking if Trump is unstable (he is), you should be asking why anyone other than a moral imbecile would vote for an idiot like Trump.” C’mon now: I know several people who voted for Trump, and that ain’t the case. They simply don’t know a damn thing about Trump, outside of him being a game show host and rich guy. Do they have regrets now? I don’t know. They might, but like most Americans, they know little and care less about “political stuff” in their lives. Also, let’s not forget something here: how many of Mrs. Clinton’s admirers understand or care to understand the sordid business about her sycophancy towards Wall Street and her clamoring for war? Or about Obama’s drone program, among other awful things? I’m simply appalled and disturbed by the amount of “good” people who now embrace these self-same Republican frauds and criminals because those criminals are “against” Trump. Sure they are.
““But … but … the Democrats are worse.” Those of you objecting should think about how easily that thought slips into your consciousness.” I’m surprised it took you as long as it did for you to slip that canard in. You know what? I never think that. Democrats and liberals who now are throwing down with the above-mentioned criminals are no better than the freaks they’re suddenly embracing.

I’m surprised it took you as long as it did for you to slip that canard in. You know what? I never think that. Democrats and liberals who now are throwing down with the above-mentioned criminals are no better than the freaks they’re suddenly embracing.

Make up your mind.

And don’t deny that your first thought is how equally corrupt Obama and Clinton are.

That single thought slips into your consciousness so easily. As easily as a McDonald’s jingle.

Yet Obama put an end to torture, Trump promises it. Obama/Clinton negotiated with Iran. Trump is about to tear up the agreement. Senate Democrats demanded an accounting of torture. Republicans blocked it.

I’m not particularly enamored with the Dems, although any criticism of Republicans brings that single, indisputable contention that they’re just as bad.

They aren’t. Democrats have many problems, true, so that’s why I listed the nonsense spouted by Republicans. There’s no comparison except for those of you who think rounding up 11 million people in America is exactly equal to, say, Obamacare; or that a Supreme Court Justice directly involved in establishing and implementing the Bush rendition and torture regime is just as bad as participating in Nato and UN protection of civilians in Libya in 2011.

Your inability to discriminate the one from the other feeds the Republican narrative and directly led to Trump’s election.

The arguments about whether the dems are worse than the repubs must remain academic, because we have only the experience of Trump and not of Clinton. But on the other hand Trump promised change (in a way, just as Obama did) and everyone knew that with Clinton it would be the same old shit.

The fundamental problems with the electorate that led us to this state of affairs include dereliction of civic duty by not informing itself of the issues and carefully questioning the candidates on how they would address them in the first place, and their abject failure to recognize the existence of viable alternatives to the dems and repubs in the second. We love to blame the politicians for all our national ills, but when it comes time to vote, laziness and stupidity trump informed self interest every time. What’s worse, the professional politicians recognize this, and thus feel no incentive to change.

Trump Is Filling Court Seats With Anti-LGBTQ, Anti-Abortion Judges
“Trump’s speed in nominating judges has been perhaps the most successful aspect of his presidency.”

“Barrett is the model judicial candidate for this White House: young, conservative, and opposed to abortion and LGBTQ rights. For all the stories about President Donald Trump using his executive power to roll back civil rights protections — in the past day, his administration axed the ACA birth control benefit and ended workplace protections for transgender people — it is here, on the courts, where his team is working most aggressively to reshape the country.

“Trump’s speed in nominating judges has been perhaps the most successful aspect of his presidency,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who specializes in judicial nominations.

“Trump has easily surpassed Obama, Bush and Clinton at this point in the first year of their presidencies in terms of the sheer number nominated.”,

Would be a great idea to check Trump with the Hare Psychopathy checklist, I am sure his score would be over 30.
But in fact Trump is not the problem it is those who surround him + a large amount of politicians inside and outside the US.
How they can remain silent and do or say nothing well realising that the president is clearly suffering from a serious mental problem, well that will keep historians and other academics busy for decades.
Is it opportunism, what is the gain for knowingly and willingly remain passive or endorsing Trump? What we do witness now is the ultimate form of Russian roulette.
Try to translate the following Latin text:
Qui suam imprimere cupiunt formam, labens solum relinquunt.
That is what I think about Trump.

I’m not familiar with the ‘Hare Psychopathy checklist’ and I don’t speak Latin (although, I’m willing to hear you out.) .. .. but I would agree the rise of Trump presents us all with a kind-of societal ‘Russian roulette’.

Studies show that many who make it to the top of the pyramid are the psychopaths among us. They are willing to act out any behavior (that most aren’t) to reach their goal. The problem is a design problem…as long as we have pyramids there will be those who will lie, cheat and steal their way to the top. Vertical power must end. Horizontal power must take its place…and we now have the technology to share power with the masses. Representatives, who were once needed because we all couldn’t travel to Washington were not the best choice (one person is too easily corruptible) …representatives were the ONLY choice. Not anymore…in a country of 350 million…when we can vote via the internet with our SS # the sheer numbers will lock out the extremes on both sides of any issue and the common sense solution will be revealed. Don’t expect this will happen…the deep state is fully entrenched and Congress, with its multimillion-dollar supporters, will NEVER vote themselves out of a job. THIS is the problem…not the latest psychopath in office.

For more on this topic research Instant Electorate. This was a pilot project in Oregon at one time wherein voters could cast ballots using existing technology. Thus removing the tendency for their representatives in Congress to accept kickbacks and influence from lobbyists unfortunately, it was so successful it was stopped. By, you guessed it…their state representatives.

Other than Sanders and Stein; what presidential candidate wasn’t a psychopath?

I’m not sure a test would serve democracy, it would be easy enough to use it to eliminate anyone who wasn’t a good status-quo sock puppet and give us nothing but Clinton and Regan clones from here to eternity.

…maybe in fact it is good that we are psychologically varied race and this inhibits us? Imagine we are a perfect, effective, moral and peaceful people who passively fill our planet to the point it can’t sustain us and then we peacefully colonise other planets and on and on until we passively and peacefully over-run the universe and and trump all other life?? of course, the opposite of narcissism is self sacrifice…how many of us can say we would honestly give our life for that of other humans, the planet or other animals or beings? we know about the global warming and corruption and all things terrible in our world…so every individual who chooses to own a car and does not survive solely on ethical and sustainable products, or gains income for any company who is not totally ethical…is being narcissistic and making decisions that harm other people and the planet? being human is very complex and confusing!! balance may be the best thing?…the constant swings from left to right keep everything moderate and inhibit extremes? Always fight for freedom of speech and debate that help all sides put in checks and balances on each other??

Astute observation the center; however swings like a pendulum cycling to the right and left of true moderation/centralism and sometimes hard shifts are need to overcome this imbalance or critical situations (great depression). Worse case Revolution or Civil War mostly political movements and ideas usally suffice. We have pushed the pendulum far to money is speech, corporations are people causing surveillance, endless wars, inequity and poor common good such as healthcare and education and the extremes pulling in both direction hold it fast, in place. Cheer up or weep it will change.

Back to the article if Trump is too mentally imbalanced to maintain power he will be impeached or replaced “Seven Days in May” could swing us even further to the right. No worries no war unless it is a “deep state” decision or someone else does something crazy.

ok…back to the article…At the end of the day Trump is relatively unstable and has issues…but he is a successful businessman who represents the interests of other successful businessmen…that is why he is in power and if he becomes a threat to their interests or if he completely ‘blows’ they will stop supporting him and he will be out and other candidates are probably already being groomed to take his place who will continue to suit their interests…that’s pretty much how it works both in the USA and UK I suspect? The big question is what can we…at the bottom of the pyramid practicably do about it? That a president can be so widely disliked and feared across the world and still be in power?? I have no answers? I hope that Trump and his nuclear shenanigans are a wakeup call that will scare people enough to create some positive change…and at least like our ‘Brexit’ may make people more cautious and aware of the impact that their votes can have?

First off why “Brexit” and Trump? The devil we knew Bushes, Clintons Obama or ‘united’ unified Europe was so raw a deal a group of swing voters not loyalist to any, where willing to take the “calculated” risk for something almost anything else.

Trump, other previous presidents in an alternative universe, could have done the right things and with bipartisan support passed reasonable policy, immigration generous but enforced, a form of universal healthcare, an infrastructure program and reduced endless war and surveillance, even better taxation and finance. Same hopes many of these swing voters strongly had for Obama who all but totally failed to deliver. Trump is a risk but he has preformed one function fully and flawlessly he has destroyed two dynasties and is sure to wreck his own. 2020 elections are wide open may we get better candidates and choose wisely. I do not so much fear Trump sane or sick but do fear those who would use his flaws to gain their own ends. America has had five great Presidents, they generally come to pass once in a lifetime. I am old and have never lived under the rule of one, We are due and hope springs eternal.

I wasn’t really comparing Brexit to trump in any way…Brexit was Britain trying out its voice and then being really surprised that it worked I think?
I Was just thinking about the way we at the bottom choose to vote and what impact that has…I immediately disagreed with myself after I wrote that and thought that our votes are so insignificant anyway as the powers give us a couple of options that they will make work for themselves whatever the outcome. Trump will be used to their benefit until they’ve used him up and then they will take him out of power I guess? His personality and mental status will only come into it in any way it suits their motives like you yourself say. World politics is interesting at the moment, the wealth divide has become so apparent and is playing out more in the media here. Macron has shaken Labour movements into action in france, here, Corbyn is gaining much support. We are all feeling pretty chained and crushed. Trump is flagging up the arrogance of power for you. I hope your hope is realised in the next couple of years and a peaceful revolution brings us into balance again! We could use some inspiring political role models :) It does scare me that corporate power has reached a point of no return and I wonder how crushed we have to get before the masses retaliate and how successful this will be. Our Countries military are not only there to bully other powers into line. They are there to protect against their own people. Revolution sounds romantic but I really hope we never need it!

Hah! I realise I don’t stick to the point too well…but I get frustrated that the media keep us debating on fragments of society, ie…Trumps mental health…it distracts us? These are just symptoms of the whole and I think we need to address the cause of our problems rather than wasting time legislating at the bottom while a loophole somewhere else just forfeits any law we may bring in to progress us? To be fair, I air my frustration on here and join worthy organisations and live as ethically as I can as I have no idea what to do about it ;)

Money doesn’t turn people into morons. It just makes a person less dependent on the good will of others, and therefore freer to reveal their true nature. Mr. Trump doesn’t need to hide his character flaws. That is why so many people voted for him; it’s better to elect someone with known (rather than unknown) flaws. Of course, Mrs. Clinton’s flaws were also well known, so it was a close election.

No… who or whom needs to be investigated and is the subject… is Mr Dillusionist himself! Now if you think that he has not shown in his prior, now and for the near future the propensity for pyschopathy… then let Dillusional Donald raise you because those who cannot or will not recognize danger are considered children and have to be protected from themselves.

So “attack if you will and destroy the messenger… but NOT the Message!”
Is he… or is he not is the question?
And we await your “prideful” opinion… not your deflections.

That’s an old school view from the days when psychiatrists were considered to be medical professionals rather than partisan hacks. Nowadays, people understand that psychiatrists are just hired guns, and are useful if you need to label your political opponents as crazy. Half of psychiatrists have certified the Republicans to be crazy. The other half has certified that Democrats as crazy. While you may disagree with one side or the other, on balance they have it just about right.

“Yet, a review of the historical record finds that past commanders in chief, even well-regarded ones, struggled with mental health problems throughout their presidencies. “It’s a cliché that you have to be nuts to run for president,” says Evan Thomas, the journalist and historian whose latest book is an intimate biography of President Richard Nixon. “Like most clichés, it’s at least partly true.””

The world should be very scared! Sociopaths, Psychopaths and those with Narcissistic personality disorders can become so much more delusional and dangerous when threatened and their behaviour can spiral out of control and deteriorate into self destructiveness…how will he act at any moment he feels he may actually lose any power or have to give up the presidency?…serious narcissists don’t care who they take down with them…having said this, I’d suspect that their are some people in the government watching him very very carefully and are ready to act extremely quickly against him if they need to.

This is so true…it takes that kind of relentless drive to get into the most powerful positions. We are all ruled by them, be they our politicians or bosses and they are always the ones making the most powerful decisions?. The world hasn’t been completely destroyed…yet…its just been slowly heading in that direction since there were humans? Not sure what we can do about it except give therapy to every child on the planet so that every human is emotionally intelligent and neutral and wipe out any psychiatric disorders…or stop favouring and praising humans with these traits and stop allowing them into positions of power and control?

This could get so deep if you look too far forward…if ‘normal’? moral people led the world we would all get on great…no war, no starvation etc…up until the point where we are such an effective race that there are too many of us for the planet and we may not be sustainable… then what…there would have to be some tough decisions again and what kind of person would make them? makes your head spin when you look at the biggest picture. Short term I do think it is sad for the world that immorality and severe narcissism are traits that are rewarded by, for instance, the position of presidency!?…The UK has these type of leaders too…I think in Trumps case it is just alot less subtle…this may be a good thing as he is at least drawing attention to the personalities of our leaders and provoking these discussions?…I am aware I am not being particularly academic in this forum…Its Sunday morning in the UK and I am just throwing ideas out there as I enjoy breakfast and wake up ;)

In psychiatry, there is a rule that is called: the goldwater rule: never diagnose celebrities with a psychiatric illness. A) you do not know the celebrity (never had him on the couch). B) you will be used as propaganda material by those who do not like the celebrity, (as happened with the psychiatrist in this piece of Hasan).

But what you can do as a psychiatrist is diagnose disease in governments, which is much more intersting IMO. The US government is according to the writer of the essay below (who is a psychiatrist), paranoia. For quite some time too. Treatment comes from the people who can change governments.

And that is the beauty of it. You can change governments in a collectieve effort (happened in history over and over again, although it takes much struggle). But changing a person, you can’t as a collective.

Holy Mackerel! The freak outs of many commentators over psychiatric information (disparaging it as “tripe”) are illuminating – and saying more about the commentators than the contributions of these highly accomplished professionals. And, given the probable knee jerk reaction to “professional” accompanying or behind these sentiments,
as I’ve said elsewhere, I suggest to be true to yourselves forget about attending any educational institution, getting medical treatment, hospitalization, medicines, addiction treatment, fire retardants, clean drinking water, legal and financial advice, being an occupant in any vehicle or air plane, seeking computer assistance, etc. All saddled with that label of “professional” which apparently carries no veracity, authority, or trustworthiness in your book. And lordly. Psychiatrists! Gees. They fiddle around pretending to learn something in the 8 years of medical school after they’ve finished 4 years of undergraduate work. Stop pretending. You do a disservice to your own intellect and common sense.

Chilling to read many comments here which deny the professionalism and wisdom of these psychiatrists. Chilling because these skeptics appear devoid of common sense. With common sense you “know” when someone is lying, you have a “feel” for it, a “nose” for it. And, the lies told by our great white leader have been mounting in number and listed in newspapers. Common sense is based on instincts – as in being able to “smell a rat” as in knowing – not intellectually, but gut-wise that the great white leader is selling snake-oil and not the authentic remedy. Something is “fishy”, one’s instincts prompt you to say. The psychiatrists (MD’s with speciality in psychiatry) give fancy names for the behavioral pattern that’s experienced as “fishy”. I would suggest to the skeptics -since common sense and lengthy educational study appear irrelevant to truth- forego medical treatment from MD’s, legal help from J.D.’s, education from M.A.’s and Ph.D’s, pharmaceuticals from Pharm.D’s, addiction treatment from M.A.’s, Ph.D.’s, M.D.’s, ministerial wisdom from M.Div.’s, air planes designed by M.S. (aerospace engineering), highways designed by M.S.’s (highway design) , weather reports by B.S.’s , M.S.’s, and Ph.D.’s (meteorology), etc.
Don’t bother to wake up. You have only one life to live. Why live it awake when you can walk through it asleep.

Over here in Europe there is something called the Hippocrates medical oath and add to that professional confidentiality.
You may love the fact that these professionals agree with your personal opinion, I just do not think they deserve their medical titles.

1 in 3 Americans say that our President’s mental health is poor? It was a survey of approximately 1400 adults I think… that’s really not reliable information that reflects our citizens opinions. I feel that the use 1 in 3 Americans is misleading information.

Jesus H Christ, do you think? I’ve known Lumpy was a nutjob for several years now, since the first time I saw him opine about politics, of which he obviously knew nothing, on the Oprah show while she disgustingly swooned over him and asked him if he was going to run for the Presidency. I’ll never forgive her for being one of the people to give him the insane idea that he was in any way qualified. Tony Schwartz has been screaming about Trump’s insanity from the rooftops for almost two years.

I certainly hope the process by which the Big Red Button to turn us all into cinders is just as slow on the uptake. Or better yet, that Kelly and Tillerson make good use of a roll of duct tape and an ‘undisclosed location’ for the good of the country and globe, as soon as possible. It’s not like he’ll be missed. His supporters and their stupid red hats will just go back to the couch and their ball games and beer.

The story here is how an accomplished doctor from a distinguished university can make and believe claims that have no basis or fact. Very disappointed to see this nonsense published with out asking for examples of sexual assault etc.
perhaps u should move on to Harvey Weinstein.

if he went to rehab and dealt with his stimulant problem (my guess is coke) he would probably be alot more rational and safer to the world. be under no illusions american friends, you commander in chief puts alot of powder up his nose. similar to hitlers problem with meth, trump has a problem with coke. to anyone who has been around those circles IT IS BLATENTLY OBVIOUS! please do the world a favor and get rid of this guy before he touches off world war 2.5.

Yale, like Harvard and every other major university in this country, has been kicking out professors who were “lefties” and “socialists” for nearly a century. Your time would be better spent asking whether this professor of psychiatry is simply providing a neoliberal argument for removing Trump (which isn’t going to happen) or is merely making assumptions based on a lack of knowledge of history. Bush Jr. was controlled by a complete megalomaniac, Dick Cheney. Woodrow Wilson was so neurotically sick that Sigmund Freud wrote a book about it. Clinton’s divorced from reality views of what happened in the election do not provide a reasonable alternative either. The government run by the incapable president we have now cannot overcome the deep state that controls it.

A rich, crazy CEO and business owner can do whatever he wants. After all, it’s good to be the king. He can make his own rules and decisions, good or bad. Who, other than the skeptical board members and underlings, will override the Potentate’s bad choices?

Like the worthless “Peace for our time” treaty signed by World War 2 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberalin when he naively thought the Nazi dictatorship would honor it, Donald Trump thinks Deals For Our Time is a simple and easy way to run a government. The problem is, when the deal goes bad millions suffer.

We don’t need to analyze Trump’s mental state to believe that the affliction isn’t just his craziness. It’s his astonishing stupidity.

Trump is an ignoramus who distills everything down to deal-making in his fantasy universe of unicorns wearing sombreros prancing around in pixie dust.

Running a country is not like running a business. A business mogul doesn’t have to deal with protecting anything other than his assets and wealth. Not so with a nation of over 325 million people whose needs must be dealt with at all levels of income, job skills and human conditions.

At some point not very far off from Robert Mueller’s investigation, the myopic, obtuse Trump is going to be exposed as this nation’s biggest tax dodger and scam artist. That disagreeable fact conjoins with the gargantuan facade and collapsing house of cards he has built around his 9 months in office.

Giving orders from the top as CEO of the Trump empire is a lot different from taking orders from the people who can take him down in a New York minute in spite of his shrieking hordes of KKK, neo-Nazi supporters and self-perceived invincibility.

That’s just about how fast he’s been heading south since ascending to the Oval Office on January 20.

Of course Trump’s continuous eruptions and irrational tweets may be so severe that he will be eased out of office by his own party.

Or, the military generals who are baby-sitting the tantrum-throwing infant will put him in a straitjacket before he can get his Lilliputian fingers on the nuclear codes.

Notice that there is not one example of something that President Trump has DONE

Here’s a few:

he has shown many signs of dangerousness. The most obvious ones might be 1) verbal aggressiveness, 2) history of sexual assault, 3) incitement of violence at his rallies, 4) attraction to violence and powerful weapons, 5) [provoking] hostile nations, and, more recently, 6) an endorsement of violence, during [the protests in] Charlottesville, and 7) sparring with another nuclear power that has an unstable leader. All these things are signs of dangerousness.

It seem that you and most all who have replied to my post don’t realize that I quoted it from the article. All I added were the numbers.

Your “what about this guy or that guy” is irrelevant. There was a question asked about Trump. I answered that question. Trump’s fuckery is no less Trump’s just because someone else has done something similar in the past.

What “laughable about 5,6 and 7? For example, you think it’s funny that Trump has threatened to murder millions of people in North and South Korea during his rants on twitter and news clips aimed at an unstable dictator in Korea? I see no humor in that.

You think it’s funny that he clearly stated that he’s sees no difference between NAZIs murdering people, and people protesting NAZIs murdering people? I see no humor in that.

I did realize later that the examples of Trump behavior were from Bandy Lee.

But my point is that if this is the best Bandy Lee has to label Trump insane and dangerous, then she is playing a very dirty game and is violating her medical ethics and the Hippocratic oath. She is deliberately misusing her medical licence for malafide non-medical reasons and she is abusing psychiatry like the Soviets did.

That this abuse of psychiatry can happen against a US President, is itself a sign of how deep and big this battle of interests is.

Trump has condemned mob violence inside the US irrespective of who does it. That is certainly a sane position.

As far as his Twitter rhetoric against North Korea is concerned, it seems to be really for propaganda while diplomatic solutions are sought.

The cynical rhetoric of the fake war on terror that was used to destroy the middle East for monetary gain is far worse than anything Trump has said.

Trump does need to act tough on North Korea if they do have nuclear weapons or WMDs which they are using to threaten other States. Trump might actually fix the North Korea problem.

I actually liked Trump’s speech to the UN.

Some deep State factions are running scared of the Trump Presidency hence these soft coups to contain him.

1. Every US president has been verbally aggressive.
2. Sexual assault? Care to elaborate?
3. Incitement of violence at his rallies – no more so that Black Lives Matters
4. Attraction to violence and powerful weapons – Along with every member of the the NRA and Liberal Gun Club
5. [provoking] hostile nations – You mean like Obama when he insisted that Israel discontinue its expanse of illegal settlements on the west bank? Or when he invaded Libya with CIA backed proxy forces
6. Endorsement of violence during [the protests in Charlottesville – i suppose you’re referring to the fact that he refused to place all of the blame on conservative protestors. Rather, he chose to condemn both sides as being sources of violence.
7. Sparring with another nuclear power that has an unstable leader. – One man’s sparring is another man’s sabre rattling. Kennedy threatened to nuke the Ruskies if they didn’t remove their nukes from Cuba.

“It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.”

The very public expansion of North Korea’s Nuclear missile program is perceived as an imminent existential threat by many Asian allies of the US including South Korea and Japan. The United States has treaty obligations to defend both South Korea and Japan.

I wonder if you had the same opinions during the “distant diagnoses” given by a sitting Congressman doctor during the Terri Schiavo case? It sounds like the same confusion that conflates Obama’s killings of American citizens overseas without trial as an understandable attempt at reparations for American slavery. Pay attention to the actions, not the actor.

I wonder if you had the same opinions during the “distant diagnoses” given by a sitting Congressman doctor during the Terri Schiavo case?

You’re conflating a “distant diagnoses” by one single sleaze sitting congressman of a person who is brain dead and consequently cannot speak or take any actions at all, with a “distant diagnosis” by 27 phychiatrists of a person who makes themselves known all day everyday by the words they use and the actions they take?

When examining the venues used by Dr. Lee to build her brand and peddle her book, I am reminded of news article I once read in a Boston area newspaper. It was about an eccentric local artist who was arrested for smearing his feces onto the walls of numerous public bathrooms. In defense of his actions, he claimed that he was was using the ‘most suitable medium in the most appropriate venues to give free expression to his abiding animus for all things political.” When further queried about the public outrage surrounding his artistic predilections, he was quoted as saying, “everyone is a critic.” In short, it is not necessarily the lady’s expertise to which Sam takes exception, but the way in which it is being irresponsibly used to affect political outcomes

You can always find a psychiatrist to declare someone crazy; that, after all, is their job. Should panels of psychiatrists evaluate whether Presidents are sufficiently mentally stable to keep their jobs? This seems unnecessary to me. The President has a cabinet of experienced advisors, dozens if not hundreds of assistants, and people in the press giving him advice. President Reagan was senile for most of his second term and no one even noticed.

I’m more worried about the mental stability of my gardener. He works alone in the garden, and if he goes over the edge, there’s no one to cover for him.

Nixon and Kennedy were on extensive cocktails of antidepressants and even antipsychotics, for example. But so much for ‘destigmatizing mental illness,’ I guess.

Yet, Olfson adds, studies have shown that the stigma oddly lingers. Biological explanations for mental illness, he says, lead many Americans to think it “is a fixed, indelible trait that people may hold at some distance.” This prejudice may explain why mental illness in politics remains a skeleton in the closet. “As long as we consider mental health issues defects, as character flaws,” says David Axelrod, “we are going to have a situation where people cannot accept that in a position of leadership nationally.”

Hum dee dum. . .

Saul Levin, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, says the public should “commend” rather than punish any politician who seeks treatment for a mental illness. “If anything, I’d come out even stronger in support of them for saying, ‘I don’t want to just hide this and not take care of it,’” he says.

Yes, so stop being so mean and have some compassion for the poor man! . . . Or is that not the right message? Stigmatizing mental illness is wrong? Or just some of the time. . .? What a conundrum.

Why would the first thing you ask be whether Trump should be removed from office because of mental illness instead of seeking to get him treated for it? Even if you disagree with the man shouldn’t he get help if he needs it?

I find it rather interesting that a secular Shia Muslim named Mehdi (AKA Mahdi (def): guided one ) is interviewing a Yale psychiatrist who purportedly believes that Donald I-am-That-I-Am Trump poses an imminent nuclear threat to the world. Considering the fact that Yale boasts an impressive track record of providing America’s clandestine intelligence services with many of its most notable leaders (see: Skull and Bones), one is left wondering about the fate of the 35 Year old neoliberal endorsement of a Saudi-led Sunni transformation of the Muslim world that has assiduously culminated in the radicalization of numerous Muslim cultures. Could it be that the US intelligence community is further signaling a shift away from its Saudi partners (who it now claims were allegedly complicit in the 911 WTC attacks) as it endeavors to court Iran in hopeful expectation of a new alignment with secular Shia Muslims as a logical mean to creating a counterbalance to the Frankenstein monster it created? Is this interview meant to be a foreshadowing of a seminal shift in US foreign policy wherein a NWO blood sacrifice of a white, trigger happy, ultra-traditionalist, violence prone president – in the person of Donald Trump – can be enthusiastically endorsed by peoples of color as an essential precursor to the necessary demise of America’s political right in general?

You’re doing the same thing as Clinton and her entourage. So your article echoes MSM vocabulary, sentiment and style. It’s not Clinton or Trump. It’s never the candidate. Rather who or what they represent. The interests they subcontract to while in office.

Yeah, trump is crazy. And so are all the fucking jew-christians who believe in deranged nonsense about some non-existent ‘god’. And so are all the psychos who work as hired murderers in the US military and police. They are also known as soldierrs and cops. Cops and soldiers are not just fucking crazy, they are also armed and their job is to murder people.

So why pick only on crazy trump eh? Oh and what about child murderer obomba? Wans’t he another criminal lunatic?

Excellent Pete. These “experts” are shameless. From Gitmo to Mehdi, they spread their smug, superior wisdom and take no responsibility for either the effect or accuracy of their theories. I loathe T-rump as much as the next person, but I see no difference between him and, say, Kissinger except that Hillary loooooves Kissinger.

What if he has dyslexia? That would explain his spelling, short attention span and memory. Praising himself for everything, he thinks, he has done well may be his way of coping with his learning disability.

The various experts can yell at each other on cable news shows all they want. But at the end of the day, only one thing matters. Politicians money and power. This long list of politicians (both right and left wing) say Trump’s mentally ill. Yet NOT ONE OF THEM will publically say, we need to impeach him now. Maxine Waters.?She gets racist death threats and no support from the CBC. Why won’t they do it? the same reason John Conyers refused to impeach Bush Jr? It’ll cost us the mid terms and the next election. It’s too “upsetting”. Then John Lewis and other Democrats say, oh, it’s so terrible. Those big mean Republicans won’t listen to us. We’re the minority. It’s so unfair.

As for psychiatrists evaluating Trump from a distance, that’s total hypocracy. Doctors act as professional witnesses all the time (usually for a very nice fee). These neocons say Trump’s a racist nutcase. But I’ll support him anyway. All they care about is power.

The best reason to NOT impeach Trump is Mike Pence; Trump is incompetent and will get little of his destructive agenda enacted, while Pence is very competent and will be very successful at enacting the entire slate of destructive right-wing ideology into law.

One buffoon at a time….
I hope you weren’t among those anything but Hillary-ites… who, when the folly of their choice is shown to them with very real, non-abstract, destructive outcomes that will impact for a generation… say, “what about Pence?”

Yeah. What about Pence?
This site is host to a craven kennel of barking buffoons who rationalize away their obsessive preoccupation with HRC to the delight of Trump and his cohort of criminals and sociopaths.

We were given two shit sandwitches and asked to choose. It’s like having to choose between Ebola or a cardiovascular infarction.

I was for Bernie, then Jill Stein. Turns out my vote didn’t matter in either case: they stole the nomination from Bernie and probably, in my state, for Hillary (even though she didn’t win).

I used to be a “lifelong Democrat”, but they started to lose me with Bill Clinton. It was a true disaster that Obama turned out to have as much old-school Republicanism in him as Clinton did. But the unmitigated disaster that was the Democratic primary, 2016, pushed me over the edge; they need a viable “third party” to their left if ever the Democratic Party is to be reformed – they’re, as a group, just as bad as Republicans in a great many respects and only better than them marginally – albeit on matters that matter, but NOT on the matters that would help We, The People get the representation we deserve – to that, they give lip-service.

ITs not good enough to blame Trumps nastiness of poor mental health. It’s lazy and misleading. Trump has been a nasty and maladjusted man for most of his life. This is because he is a nasty man, with values not suited to social living – not because he’s mentally ill.

“The most obvious ones might be verbal aggressiveness, history of sexual assault, incitement of violence at his rallies, attraction to violence and powerful weapons, [provoking] hostile nations, and, more recently, an endorsement of violence, during [the protests in] Charlottesville, and sparring with another nuclear power that has an unstable leader. All these things are signs of dangerousness.”

No proven history of sexual assault by Trump (unlike Bill Clinton) , there is video proving that the Dems sent agitators into Trump rallies to incite violence, Hillary (the woman who destroyed Libya) repeatedly called for (in effect) war with Russia via a no-fly zone over Syria, the violence at Charlottesville was initiated by the Va State Police who, ignoring a federal court injunction. broke up the UTR rally and pushed the attendees into the ranks of the violent antifa and their allies-who created the riot. AFAIK, the UTR protesters were only acting in self-defense. RE DPRK, Trump may have been trying to get China to act in a serious manner about their continuing provocations.

To put all this into further context, the Dems and the state security organs have been attacking Trump for 10 months for wanting better relations with Russia. Having found no evidence of “collusion” between Trump and Russia , they’re now reduced to attacking news outlets based in Russia and Facebook posts made by Russians.

Just because Hillary was a terrible choice doesn’t mean that Trump was a good one.

There are three reasons why a Trump presidency MAY have been better for us than a Hillary one:

1) The end of the TPP, though it looks like Trump may be trying to take some of the worst parts of the TPP and re-negotiate them into a new NAFTA, which would blow this one out of the water.

2) With Hillary’s idiotic and ultra-dangerous “no-fly-zone” that would have put us in direct military conflict with Russia, we MIGHT have a somewhat lower risk of thermonuclear war.

3) Presuming we survive this, Trumps’ presidency has riled up people on both the right and left and we MAY see a new coming together of a new progressive era – an era in which We, The People (instead of the ultra-rich) are back in control. It’ll be a small miracle if we can pull it off because it means that We, The People, on the left, right and center, need to get it that the ultra-rich are in firm control of BOTH the Democratic and Republican parties and we need to clean them the hell out of our government by whatever means necessary – preferably non-bloody ones. …We need to come together to fight the ultra-rich – we can argue with one another about who goes in what bathroom some other day, we have something much more important to do: get back our democracy!

Good comment, Art. It just infuriates me that Susan Serrandon said this same sort of thing to Chris Hayes and he mocked and hooted and did his usual frat boy bully crap to her, but when Norm Ornsteen said the same thing months later on Hayes’s show, he nodded sagely and acted like he might agree with that idea. It makes me just hate the elites, especially the cable media elite so I hope left and right citizens gang up and do as you say: take back our democracy.

I was listening on KPFA yesterday that there’s been some digging into the re-counts that Jill Stein had asked for and the investigators found some very solid evidence found regarding true election fraud and that indeed, maybe Hillary DID win. OK, let’s say just for argument that that was true; that would mean that some group decided to install Trump. Who could do that?!

Well, we have one hell of an easy “system” to hack. Both Dems and Repubs have had ample opportunity to fix our voting systems but they’re still easily hacked, and so it’s appropriate to conclude that that’s by design. So, SOMEONE wanted Trump over Hillary and decided to cheat for him. Hmmm… Who might do that?

It MIGHT be that there are competing factions in our “shadow government” who are at war with one another…

It’s been shown since their founding that the CIA is primarily involved in interference in the selection processes of governmental systems around the globe. It’s rational to think the CIA is involved in our own system’s manipulations. … Who or what is on the other side? IDK.

We have only a small window of time to save the situation. Don’t vote for the oligarchs! Vote for Green, or perhaps Bernie, should he run again…

There is nothing wrong with President Trump’s mental health.
His primary modus operandi is to motivate people, not to be confused with ranting lunacy.
The beef with NK is being handled by his GOOD COP BAD COP ploy.
Pres Bashar al-Assad’s nephew said in an interview that muslims put religion before country.
President Trump has to navigate the bad operating environment of the secret state, deep state, corrupt gov.
The us ho-media on the other hand, make every attempt to put Pres Trump in a bad light.
Meanwhile the Dems get their support and guidance from the Weinstein.

Even if we’re to give you the benefit of the doubt that there’s a method to Trump’s madness, his method is still evaluated on results. What did Trump accomplish with NK with his lunacy? Do you really believe Trump has not taken a bad situation and made it worse? Sure, it’s easy to deny that it’s worse, because it’s always easy to deny a potential alternate reality. Compared to Obama’s actions, the situation is worse. But NK has also continued its weapons development, so Obama is not the only factor to be considered.

These snowflake shrinks are projecting their own disease coming from their Clintonite cult and its still being stuck in denial. Their mad Red Queen displayed aberrant behaviors publicly for years but they didn’t seem to notice or care.

This boiling resentment they are displaying is just more of their petty failing ‘resistance’ and cultish hopes for overturning a humiliating election loss.

Way–I think we probably vote differently but I think you are absolutely right: I think Hillary has displayed incredible narsisisism all her life, but has the ability to hid it. Just her willingness to stay with a sociopathic rapist so that he could help her get to the White House is a sign of deep pathology in my opinion. And what do we call the willingness of Rachel Maddow et. al. to revive the ugly Russia bashing and Mc Carthyism of the 50’s just to avoid a good self analysis by the damn Dems?

I may be in the minority here, but I think not abiding by the APA’s Goldwater, these psychologists are going down a dangerous road. I agree that President Trump is a narcissist and consistently says horrible stuff. However, he actually hasn’t started any major wars (yet). So in that sense I would say his job performance is less bad than the last republican president, President Bush, who needlessly started a war in Iraq, and authorized torture in violation of the Geneva convention, and initiated surveillance programs in violation of the constitution. In that regard, I would say Trump is far less bad than Bush; even though Bush stuck to the script and didn’t say all the outrageous things that Trump says. Although Trump has 3 more years to prove me wrong on this assertion.

If you aren’t questioning Trump’s sanity and mental stability, you probably don’t have the cognitive skills necessary to go out in public unsupervised. For the rest of us, all we can do is impeach this megalomaniac, or grit our teeth and see where it goes.

It is beyond frustrating that any normal, intelligent , rational himan being can see him for exactly what he is, yet he is still free to destroy and wreak havoc on everything that was once great about America. All the articles in the world are pointless until someone, somewhere grows a set and removes this thing from office. What exactly will it take before the US makes that a top priority?

A bunch of conniving Republicans and unethical psychiatrists aren’t really going to convince me of anything. That doesn’t mean that Trump isn’t nuts — though actually I think he is a sociopath, which is to say, a superior specimen who is better adapted to the social environment than most of us — but they couldn’t convince me the sky is blue.

I think it is beyond obvious that Trump is not well mentally. The degree of the derangement is unknown but I would bet it is much worse than what we see in the media…it usually is as his handlers and family create a buffer zone.

I watched Mehdi Hassan interview of Richard Dawkins and a few of his other interviews. I find it weird he writes for the Intercept. Almost anyone could have conducted this interview. I have a hard time taking anyone seriously who ‘believes’ his prophet “flew to heaven on a winged horse”. I guess he doesn’t believe he will burn in hell for all eternity if he doesn’t accept jesus blah blah blah. Religion poisons everything especially the ‘blessed’.

Trump supporters and some of my fellow Americans can’t stomach the fact that we are lead by a moron and a lunatic – it reflects badly on us.

Don’t pick a fight with Mr. Hasan because you can’t face the fact that “we the American people” have elected a man that mentally ill. Every empire must come to an end – perhaps Trump will be the end of the American empire. This is not a wish, it is history!

Another beauty from Mehdi Hassan….and now he cites even his own interviews on AlJazeera to support his delusional propaganda. The best thing about this article is the picture showing a blond man…..Mehdi loves blond.

There’s only three solutions to the survival of mankind. It’s Bernie as POTUS and/or a nuclear apocalypse under Trump, with most of the fall out in the empire, and hopefully the first solution alone will do. It’s up to America to decide.

The controlling powers of a world oligarchy have long ago taken over the United States. They have systematically brainwashed the masses to honor and serve: warmongers, vampires of a health profiteering system, perverters of our educational system, utilizing a media system of outlandish propaganda, and we are surprised that we are indoctrinated into electing public officials and judges that serve the interest of the psychopathic elite…come on… please, what else would you expect?

Not making a diagnosis, Lee says, but goes on talking about “his condition” and “mental impairment”.

I find that disturbing: there is a long history of psychiatry wrapping the legitimacy of medicine around discourses and interventions that are truly political or ideological in nature, acting as the cultural arm of police states in the West. Fuck that!

Your are precisely the type of person who lives in a denial… I can well imagine you looking out your window if everything goes to hell and saying, ‘what happened’ Nobody knew this could happen, but they did, just not enough people. Choosing the wrong leader can indeed result in the destruction of your nation or civilization, especially when he or she has the power of Donald Trump.

Exactly. We’re most all of us uneasy, psychiatrists as well. And they’re free to have an opinion as most all of us do. But to call that opinion science or medicine is absolutely wrong and should be called out. Then again, most of us have the sense to know–emphasis on the word “know”–that Trump is a delusional, deranged, despicable, degenerate thin skinned sociopathic narcissist . Your don’t need medical school to see that.
Meanwhile, while we fret about Trump’s mental state the real work of dismantling democracy is going on feverishly. I don’t doubt that that’s part of the plan.

Let’s be clear that the only reason that Donald Trump is President is because he ran against Hillary Clinton, and not because he was well-liked. Has Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton ever had a +50% approval rating? There is something inherently wrong in our elections system that allows for two of the most unpopular politicians to be the nominees for for the two major politicsl parties. The political elite and Wall Street certainly don’t represent our best interests.

And yes, let’s be honest: Donald Trump is deranged. He’s an existential threat to humanity. He needs to be impeached.

Not the voters, but who counted the vote are the problem. Did you follow the attempted recount of MI, PA, and WI votes? There was rampant voter suppression in WI, missing votes in PA, and MI just couldn’t do a complete recount because the number of voters and the ballots didn’t match (in heavily Democratic districts).
Clever, clever.

Voting has consequences and so has not voting. If that 51 percent had voted for Jill Stein, she would be president. The voters could have chosen somebody else in the primaries. How can voters be Not responsible?

Good point. We have gone through a succession of presidents/politicians who have been responsible for (or participated in) the slaughter of millions of innocent civilians across the globe (mostly, however in Southeast Asia, Latin American and recently the Middle East). American presidents have proven to be a bunch of sadistic egomaniacs who have no concern for human life.